PhD Symposium

There will be three interactive sessions with skill-shares on grant writing and ‘how to survive academia’ that speak on care and collaboration; tips on publishing critical research; and non-academic communication and arts. All are designed to support those whose research questions mainstream discourses, such as the growth imperative with degrowth, and support doctoral students’ transition to the next step in their careers. Participation is free, but applying and registration is mandatory since the number of places is limited to 30 students.

The submission deadline is the 31st of March. We will communicate the acceptance status to applicants by the 5th of April. 

Organisers: Alejandro Fortuny - external link, Josephine Becker - external link, Noortje Keurhorst - external link and Víctor Sánchez - external link (Post-Growth Innovation Lab)

For whom: Doctoral scholars (ideally 2^nd year onwards and attending the ESEE-Degrowth International Conference 2024) 

Location: University of Vigo, Escola de Enxeñería Forestal - Aula 1 (Campus of Pontevedra), Pontevedra, Spain

Date and time: June 17, 2024. From 10.30 to 16.00

10:30: Welcome and Icebreakers 

11:15 – 14:00: Three interactive sessions

14:15 – 16:00: Vegan lunch  

1) Critical research and publishing with Dr Alexander Dunlap - external link 
Beyond the formalities of academic journals, there are generally various ‘unspoken’ expectations and requirements for the successful publishing of research, especially difficult for those engaging in critical research. Therefore, this session will focus on advancing publishing skills for such research. This session will be held by Dr Alexander Dunlap who is a social anthropologist working in the field of political ecology, extractivist development, and low-carbon technologies. He is a co-editor at Human Geography and serves on various editorial boards such as the Journal of Political Ecology & Globalizations. 

2) Arts-based research and methods with Dr Sofia Greaves - external link 
In this session, we will explore arts-based research as a methodology for degrowth. Going past the common framing of art as a means to communicate scientific facts, we engage with art as a methodology for knowledge creation. We will talk about why arts-based research is important for degrowth in addition to exploring how it can be applied to participants’ respective areas of research. Collectively, we will experience arts-based methods in practice and make artistic expressions to take away.  

3) Surviving academia with Susana Fernández - external link and Dr Brototi Roy - external link
This session is split into two parts. For the first part, we will have a workshop facilitated by Susana Fernandez Lopez on how to cultivate a profile for postdoctoral funding and how to write a postdoctoral proposal. For the second part, on how to survive academia as a critical scholar, we will count on Dr. Brototi Roy, an ecological economist working on material footprints of the energy transition from a perspective rooted in political ecology. She will share with us her experience as a radical scholar.

This PhD symposium is for doctoral students only, and especially for those in their 2nd year and onwards, who will be given preference. Preference will also be given to those participating in the ESEE-Degrowth International Conference 2024, as there will be an overlap in topics and a deeper experience in networking. Conference details can be found here - external link.

Although the PhD Symposium is free of charge, registration is required due to the limited availability of places (30 places). Please note the commitment of the place once you have been accepted. Applications shall be made through this form - external link; all information will be handled confidentially. 

The submission deadline is the 31st of March and applicants will hear back from us by the 5th of April.